David Beckham has described Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard as one of the best midfielders in the world ahead of England’s final Group D game against Ukraine.

The 32-year-old has already created two of England’s four goals at Euro 2012, and the Three Lions captain was unfortunate to be denied his first strike of the tournament after Sweden’s Andreas Isaksson pulled off a great save as Roy Hodgson’s side won 3-2.

“I’ve always said he’s one of the best midfielders in the world, I’m so happy to see him as England captain,” said Beckham.

“He’s been in that team for a number of years, and to see him wear that armband, and wear it with pride and play the way he does – it doesn’t surprise me.”

The 37-year-old former Manchester United midfielder, who was named captain for 59 of his 115 England caps, has backed Hodgson’s side to go all the way at the tournament.

“Looking at who is left in the competition, if we can get a good result against Ukraine, then we can push forward, and I don’t see why we can’t go all the way,” added Beckham.

“We’ve got a great goalkeeper, a talented back four, a midfield that a lot of teams are going to be scared of.

“When you have the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Gerrard, plus Scott Parker and Danny Welbeck, it amounts to a dangerous front six.

“It’s more dangerous than most of the teams I’ve seen in the competition. Hopefully we can continue to play well.

“It’s exciting to watch. It’s exciting seeing an England team like that with so many good players in it, and we’ve got Wayne Rooney to come back into the mix too, it pushes us even more forward.”